Reacting to today’s Home Office announcement that the new English Vetting and Barring Scheme will be scrapped, one of Scotland’s leading children’s charities Aberlour called on the Scottish government to consider the impact this will have on the commensurate scheme in Scotland, but resist the urge to follow suit.
The English Vetting and Barring scheme was due to go live in July but had been widely criticised for being too draconian and too broad in terms of the number of adults who would have to register with the scheme before working with children, whereas the Scottish scheme, scheduled to open to members next year under the ‘Protection of Vulnerable Groups Act’ had been commended for being more proportionate and reducing unnecessary bureaucracy.
Speaking after the Home Office announcement, Aberlour’s Head of Policy Alex Cole-Hamilton, who sits on a government committee overseeing the implementation of the Scottish Scheme said:
“Whilst the move by the UK government to scrap the vetting and barring scheme in England may prove popular with many, it is important to recognise that the Scottish scheme did not suffer from some of the problems which undermined its sister scheme south of the border. Anyone who has had to apply for multiple disclosure certificates in Scotland would welcome the rationalisation of police checking that the new scheme affords. Whilst some issues around cost and the time we have to get everyone registered are still for debate, the voluntary children’s sector in Scotland are still largely in favour of the Scottish scheme.”
“Scottish Ministers will need to consider the impact of the Home Office decision on the Scottish scheme but we hope that considering the benefits the scheme offers and the tremendous amount of time and money spent in its development, that the government will proceed with its implementation.”